


An Enchanted Week

by phoenixwaller



Series: Victuri Vignettes [4]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, New Mexico, Victuri in your city, Victuuri in your city, World Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 22:03:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11068026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixwaller/pseuds/phoenixwaller
Summary: As part of their post-retirement world tour, Yuri and Victor spend a week in Northern New Mexico.Part of the Victuri In Your City writing challenge.





	An Enchanted Week

**Author's Note:**

> So I had received a comment here where somebody was excited to see Victor going to their city. And I thought, well why not write about that? People know their own places best. 
> 
> Hence the Victuri in Your City Challenge was born. It's more a writing exercise, and a chance to show how widespread the love of the show is. Anybody can join. The goal is to write (or draw if you're an artist) Victuri in your city. When would they visit? What would they go and do? 
> 
> This is a super casual thing, so if you write a story, post it! Tag it 'Victuri in Your City' or 'Victuuri in Your City' so others can find. And if posting here go ahead and add it to the collection of the same name. 
> 
> Ask questions here, or on the post on my tumblr at <http://phoenixwaller.tumblr.com/post/161315659970/challenge>

### Day 1:

Seas of endless green had given way to rocky brown and mountains outside the plane’s windows. Yuri had been close to falling asleep from the monotony, lulled by Victor’s endless chatter.

There was a hand on his leg.

“Yuri,” Victor said softly. “We should be landing soon.”

Yuri nodded and turned into Victor’s embrace as flight attendants strolled down the aisle collecting trash.

The first thing that struck Yuri when they walked off the plane was how _thin_ the atmosphere was. He was used to living at sea level, both in St. Petersburg and Hasetsu, even Detroit was relatively low elevation. But this was something else. Suddenly it made sense why Victor had decided against putting hikes or bike rides on their schedule.

The second thing that hit him was how _dry_ it was. He noticed that as soon as they were in the airport proper Victor moved to the side to apply some of his ridiculously expensive lip balm.

“Can I get some of that?” Yuri asked, feeling that the very moisture was being sucked from his skin.

“Of course,” Victor said, before leaning in to kiss Yuri.

“Victor!”

“You have some now, don’t you?”

Yuri blushed, and was glad that nobody seemed to pay them any mind.

“So, New Mexico?” Yuri asked as they started to make their way to baggage claim. “I’ve usually thought of it as flyover territory. So what makes you want to visit here? And why in October?”

Victor grinned, his mouth heart shaped with excitement. “You’ll see!”

They retrieved their bags, then boarded the shuttle that would take them to the car rental lot. Yuri wondered why they needed to rent a car, but Victor just said that public transportation was lacking.

Victor handed Yuri his phone as they got into the car, instructions to the hotel on the screen.

“Would you rather I drive?” Yuri asked. “I know it varies from place to place, but I’ve driven more in the US than you.”

Victor laughed. “I’ll be ok Yuri.”

Yuri rolled his eyes and studied the map. “So… it looks like we get on the highway for a bit, then off again at…” He squinted at the street name, then showed the phone to Victor. “This one.”

Victor laughed again. “Just keep an eye on how close we are.”

“I can do that.”

Yuri was glad Victor was the one behind the wheel as they merged onto the busy highway. He glanced at the in-dash clock. It was almost nine in the morning.

A car with a purposefully loud muffler screamed past, weaving in and out of traffic, and Yuri focused his attention on the phone.

A few minutes later they were almost at a complete standstill.

“Yuri… look.”

“We’ve got a ways yet,” Yuri replied, keeping his eyes on the phone.

“No. _Look._ ”

Yuri looked up to see several hot air balloons drifting in the sky. His eyes widened. He’d never seen so many at once before. Many seemed clustered over one part of the city, but others had drifted off to scatter across the sea of endless blue.

“Wow,” Yuri said, eyes flitting from one colorful balloon to another.

“That’s one of the reasons we’re here.”

They found their hotel not long after. They had the reservation desk hold their luggage until check-in, then took the hotel’s shuttle to one of the drop off points for transit to Balloon Fiesta Park on advice of the concierge, who indicated that it was preferable to trying to find a place to park and waiting in the line to get in.

They wandered the grassy park, watching balloons fill, lift off, and chase crews bring other balloons from where they had landed.

Eventually Victor seemed to find something he was looking for. He strode over to where a crew was inflating a balloon, and saw a sign in Cyrillic and English. Apparently the team was Russian.

He sidled in close to his husband and listened as rapid Russian was spoken between Victor and the balloon team. After a minute Victor turned to him and grinned.

“Vitya?”

“We’re flying with them tomorrow afternoon, but they’d asked that I check in today.”

Yuri’s eyes widened again. “We’re flying in that?”

Victor grinned. “I always wanted to try flying in a hot air balloon, what better time than the largest festival in the world?”

Yuri smiled.

They stayed in the park, trying food from the various food trucks and watching until all the balloons converged again that evening. At first Yuri was confused, thinking that it was dangerous to fly at night. But instead all of the balloons stayed grounded, lighting up in a colorful light show as the flames shot into the envelopes around them.

He decided that the effect was magical.

### Day 2:

It was still dark when they boarded the shuttle to the park. Yuri dozed on Victor’s shoulder as they waited in thick traffic. He wondered why it was so busy so early, but saw that crews were frantically setting up as soon as they reached the park.

They meandered for a while, and as the sky started to brighten they got in a line for what appeared to be a popular food truck. Most of the people seemed to come away with the same thing, and Victor left Yuri waiting in the line to ask what everybody was ordering.

“Two breakfast burritos,” Victor said excitedly once they reached the windows.

“Red or green?” a middle aged woman asked.

Victor looked confused for a moment. “One of each?”

“Got it, we’ll call your number when it’s ready.”

A few minutes later they had parchment wrapped warmth in their hands.

“Who got what?” Yuri asked.

Victor shrugged. “Does it matter? Let’s try both and see which we like better.”

Yuri stared at the burrito in his hand and smiled. He bit into the food, and a moment later coughed from the heat. “Hot!”

Victor stared. “Says the man who loves wasabi.”

“Different kind of heat,” Yuri countered, coughing.

Victor unwrapped his and took a careful bite. “This one’s not so bad.”

They traded, and Victor had a similar reaction to Yuri when he bit into the one with green chile. Yuri felt lucky when his husband seemed to like the hotter flavor more. He finished the one with the smoky red chile, and soon they were meandering around the inflating balloons under the quickly brightening sky.

A cheer erupted from the crowd.

“What’s going on?” Yuri asked.

“Dawn patrol just gave the go ahead,” said a random passerby.

A few minutes later the balloons started to rise en masse, vibrant colors filling the sky. Yuri looked up in awe.

“Wow! Amazing!” Victor cried excitedly as he gazed skyward.

Yuri took his husband’s hand, deciding that the visit had been a perfect addition to their trip.

* * *

A few hours later Yuri climbed into the basket of the Russian balloon, Victor chatting excitedly with the team.

Yuri’s hands gripped the enclosure, suddenly nervous. The vehicle would soon be in the air, and only the wicker would prevent him from crashing back down to earth.

Then they were rising. Yuri squeezed his eyes shut. He felt Victor behind him, hand running along his back.

“Are you ok?”

Yuri nodded.

Victor turned Yuri and wrapped his arms around his middle. “Can you open your eyes?”

Yuri cracked open first one, then both eyes, Victor’s face the first thing he saw.

“That’s better,” Victor smiled. “Was this a bad idea? You’ve never seemed scared of heights or flying so I didn’t think to ask.”

Yuri shook his head. “I… I’ll be ok.”

Victor kissed him. “Think you can turn around and look?”

Yuri took a deep breath and nodded before turning to look out. He was greeted with a vibrant blue sky blanketing the city, mountains to the east. “Wow…”

Victor leaned on him. “I had a feeling you’d like it.”

They took a photo with the flight crew when they landed, and Victor signed several autographs. Then they were in the chase car heading back to the park.

###  Day 3:

Yuri watched his husband chat with the concierge before they made their way to their rented car and headed toward the mountains. The road was long and empty, the brush getting thicker the closer they got to the base.

Victor pulled into a mostly-empty parking lot, cables leading from the building.

“A tramway?” Yuri asked.

Victor smiled and nodded. “Let’s go!”

A few minutes later they were on board, watching the tableau of Albuquerque spread the higher they rose on the mountain. When they reached the summit they stood at the railing and gazed out for a long time, Victor standing behind Yuri with his arms wrapped around his middle. Balloons dotted the sky below them and everything seemed perfect.

### Day 4:

They checked out of the hotel and drove an hour north to Santa Fe. They stopped for lunch, but Yuri was surprised when they got in the car and continued driving north for another hour, the roads getting less populated before turning onto an almost deserted stretch.

“Vitya, where are we going?”

“Someplace I think you’ll like.”

Yuri could tell by the mischievous look on his husband’s face that he would just have to wait to find out.

Eventually they turned down a tiny road marked with a sign for Ojo Caliente Resort and at the end pulled into a dirt parking lot. The area was quiet, with cliffs buffering the rear side of several buildings. It was obviously a hotel, but Yuri wondered what the appeal was as Victor led him inside.

They checked in, but as soon as they put their luggage in their room Victor started rummaging.

“Come on Yuri!”

“Huh?”

“Put on your swim trunks.”

Yuri blinked at his husband, but decided to follow his lead. He found his swim trunks, pulled them on and slid his ams into a robe. He allowed Victor to lead him from their room back through to the building that housed the reception desk, then through a set of glass doors on the other side.

They made their way to a locker room and showered before Yuri had a good chance to look around. He wondered what it was all about, but once Victor led him to one of the hot springs dotting the property he understood. He sunk into the soothing water. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the natural warmth since moving to St. Petersburg.

“This is perfect Vitya,” he murmured as the Russian sat next to him.

“I thought you’d like it. When I saw there was a hot springs resort so close I knew I needed to bring you here.”

They spent several hours trying the various mineral pools. Yuri decided that he liked the arsenic pool the best because of the heat, while Victor seemed to prefer the iron pool.

As the pools emptied they made their way to the restaurant, and soaked in the private outdoor bath attached to their room that evening.

 

### Day 5:

They had massages scheduled for the morning, and Yuri understood the appeal as the masseur kneaded the knots in his muscles.

Afterward they flitted between the pools again, and took walks through the property. They relaxed near the outdoor fireplaces, and conversed quietly with other guests.

As they retired to their room for the night Yuri felt rejuvenated.

### Day 6:

They checked out that morning, but spent another hour soaking in the public baths before driving back to Santa Fe. When they arrived Victor drove to a hotel in what was obviously the downtown area, and Yuri didn’t even want to ask how much the room cost with the historic architecture.

They were within walking distance of most of downtown, and after days of acclimating Yuri only had a bit of difficulty with the elevation. They ducked in and out of museums and galleries. They wondered about a church with a miracle staircase, and found a place with passable sushi.

But as the day wore down Victor seemed particularly excited for the next day, Saturday.

Yuri was worried when he saw his husband check several bank accounts.

### Day 7:

The day was mild, the scent of fall in the air as Victor tugged Yuri about a block from the hotel to the start of what was identified as Canyon Road.

The atmosphere was electric as people milled and walked from one gallery to another, but it was the artists everywhere that caught Yuri’s eye. Painters and sculptors worked in front of small crowds, and several galleries had multiple creators assembled in gardens or on the street.

Victor looked like a kid in a candy shop, and Yuri understood why he’d checked his bank accounts.

“Vitya?” Yuri accused.

Victor turned to him, a serious look on his face. “Yes Yuri?”

“How much was your budget for today?”

“I didn’t have one…” Victor admitted.

Yuri pulled the Russian into the nearest gallery and looked at the prices near the paintings. He knew that his husband could afford it, but also needed limits.

“Twenty-thousand dollars,” Yuri decided after the third gallery. It seemed enough to let Victor splurge some, but not enough to end up with too much art for their walls. “Your budget today is twenty-thousand dollars.”

“But Yuri…” Victor protested.

Yuri rolled his eyes. “We can discuss it if you need to go over.”

Victor smiled and made his way to the next gallery.

They ended up going over Victor’s budget, but not by as much as Yuri expected. They got a painting of teacups for the kitchen, and a landscape triptych for the living room. Victor had begged over a tiger painting for Yurio until Yuri relented, and they picked out small pieces for Chris and Phichit.

When they collapsed into bed that night Yuri knew that they would be headed to their next destination in the morning with an early flight, but he was glad that Victor had chosen such a relaxing place to spend a week.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I appreciate any comments, kudos or shares. 
> 
> So the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the largest annual hot air balloon festival in the world, and draws teams from all over, so while I don't know for sure of any Russian balloon crews I wouldn't be surprised if there were some. And the Sandia Tramway is the third longest in the world and is just so pretty to look out from at the top. 
> 
> Ojo Caliente is one of my favorite places to relax. There are multiple natural hot springs scattered around the property, and each has a unique composition. I think our boys would definitely appreciate a hot springs in the middle of the desert. 
> 
> The art event in October is the Canyon Road Paint Out and Sculpt Out. Hundreds of artists line Canyon Road and work en plein air. It's a fun atmosphere. You can see my photos from the 2016 event [here](https://www.flickr.com/photos/phoenixwaller/albums/72157675169574456/with/30057628900/). 
> 
> The teacup painting they bought I would imagine would have come from this Russian artist: [OLGA ANTONOVA](http://www.selbyfleetwoodgallery.com/artists/olga_antonova). I've always liked her work, and hope to one day be able to afford one. 
> 
> And I can totally see Victor insisting on buying the white tiger by [Sharon Markwardt](http://www.waxlander.com/artist/30/sharon-markwardt) for Yurio. 
> 
> \-----------------------------------  
> Read my other Yuri On Ice works from my profile here at <http://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixwaller/profile>
> 
> Head over to tumblr and yell at me about Yuri On Ice at [phoenixwaller.tumblr.com](http://phoenixwaller.tumblr.com)


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